Pink Floyd

Released: March 21, 1983

Songwriter: Roger Waters

Producer: Michael Kamen James Guthrie Roger Waters

[Intro]
“…announced plans to build a nuclear fallout shelter at Peterborough in Cambridgeshire…”
“…three high court judges have cleared the way…”
“…It was announced today that the replacement for the Atlantic
Conveyor, the container ship lost in the Falklands conflict would be built in Japan. A spokesman for…”
“…moving in. They say the third world countries, like Bolivia, which produce the drug are suffering from rising violence…”

[Verse]
Tell me true, tell me why, was Jesus crucified?
Was it for this that Daddy died?
Was it for you? Was it me?
Did I watch too much T.V.?
Is that a hint of accusation in your eyes?
If it wasn't for the Nips
Being so good at building ships
The yards would still be open on the Clyde
And it can't be much fun for them
Beneath the rising sun
With all their kids committing suicide
What have we done, Maggie, what have we done?
What have we done to England?

[Outro]
Should we shout, should we scream
“What happened to the post war dream?”
Oh, Maggie, Maggie, what did we do?

Pink Floyd was a British rock band who managed to carve a path for progressive and psychedelic music in a way that was uniquely fascinating at the time and has remained equally momentous in the modern age. The name “Pink Floyd” came from two blues musicians that founding member Syd Barrett idolized—Pink Anderson and Floyd Council.

The band was formed in 1965 London by Barrett (guitars, vocals), Nick Mason (drums), Roger Waters (bass), and Richard Wright (keyboards). Sometime after releasing their debut album, 1967’s The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, the group saw the addition of a second singer-guitarist, David Gilmour. This acted largely as a means of replacing Barrett, who was forced to leave in 1968 for mental health reasons, resulting in Waters taking over as the main vocalist.

The band broke into the mainstream with 1973’s Dark Side of the Moon, an album that became one of the best-selling and most influential records in music history. Their follow-up efforts, 1975’s Wish You Were Here and 1977’s Animals, also sold well. However, the band started to see some in-fighting while making their next album, a rock opera about how Waters felt frustrated and detached from his audience. Waters seemingly became extremely controlling, firing Wright over disputes about touring and his contributions to the album. The result, 1979’s The Wall, became the best-selling double album of all time. It spawned iconic songs such as the #1 hit, “Another Brick in the Wall, Pt. 2,” and the melodic “Comfortably Numb.”

more tracks from the album

The Final Cut

From the album

The Final Cut (1983)

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The Final Cut